Oscar Piastri beats George Russell and Lando Norris to Qatar Sprint pole as Max Verstappen left in sixth

Oscar Piastri claimed a crucial pole position for the Qatar Sprint, beating George Russell and McLaren team mate Lando Norris to the top spot.

The Australian set the pace when it mattered most in Friday’s SQ3, sitting at the top of the times after both his flying laps, with his final benchmark of 1m 20.055s leaving him just 0.032s clear of Mercedes’ Russell.

Norris, who holds a 24-point lead over Piastri and Max Verstappen ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix, which means he can claim a maiden Formula 1 title this weekend, finished two-tenths further back after running wide at the last corner on his final effort.

Fernando Alonso took an impressive P4 for Aston Martin, as Yuki Tsunoda out-qualified Red Bull team mate Verstappen, the Dutchman struggling with bouncing and finishing P6.

The top-10 was completed by Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), Carlos Sainz (Williams), Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and the second Williams of Alex Albon.

Isack Hadjar failed to progress into SQ3 after losing his final lap time due to track limits at Turn 8, the Racing Bulls driver classified P11 from Ollie Bearman (Haas) and Gabriel Bortoleto (Kick Sauber).

The second Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg also lost his final lap time due to track limits and finished P14 ahead of the second Haas of Esteban Ocon.

Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was the first driver to miss the cut in SQ1 from Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) and Lewis Hamilton, the Ferrari driver once again out in the opening phase of Qualifying, as the Alpines of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto completed the order for Saturday’s 19-lap Sprint.

AS IT HAPPENED

SQ1 – Verstappen fastest as Hamilton eliminated again

With just a single one-hour Free Practice session under their belts and no team having used the medium tyre, drivers headed into the unknown during SQ1 with the yellow-walled tyre mandatory for the opening 12-minute segment.

Verstappen and Red Bull made their intentions clear from the outset, the Dutchman the first to hit the track but he was left behind title rivals Norris and Piastri after the opening laps, the Drivers’ Championship leader topping the leaderboard on a 1m 21.621s.

With track evolution at the Lusail International Circuit high, times continued to tumble and Verstappen, Norris and Piastri traded fastest laps before Alonso briefly topped the leaderboard.

Verstappen eventually finished fastest on a 1m 21.172s, leaving him one-tenth clear of the Aston Martin driver as Piastri, Hulkenberg, Norris and Hadjar completed the top six.